Today I went for run after work.. shocker....I just said run. Weird. I do have to admit that after a month of absolute crazy it was nice to put in my headphones turn up my old school tunes (it is my very old ipod) and just go. The smell of the beach to one side and the lagoon on the other - it was pretty perfect. Just had to watch for the pot holes and rocks.. those were not that much fun. Making sure to occasionally look left, right, and up. Yes.. I said up. I was running on the strip which is about a half a mile long where the little bush planes land. These are the planes used to get in and out of the village. Never thought that would be part of my safety check.
Detour: Papa Mike (Merideth's Dad) use to be a pilot of these very small planes. Thank you for the briefing before hand so I could go in cool, calm, and collected.
After that pick-me-up, I was able to join Mama A (Mom of my Kiddo) and her kiddos as they went fishing. It was so much fun to be out there watching and learning how they do things. My favorite technique, I have to admit, was executed by their family four legged friend Twiggy. He would stand very still in the river and then take off chasing a fish, successfully grabbing it, and bringing it to shore while she watched it flop around. Twiggy brought home 2 very large humpies, also known as boilers. Mama A's son was using a harpoon for the first time. He loves to fish and was getting very frustrated that he was not producing , so he gave up on the harpoon and went for the rod. In a matter of minutes he had fish hooked and lined up. It was unbelievable! In less than hour he got 8 humpies. This made time for my favorite part... I watched Mama A clean the fish and get them ready to smoke. The natives here do not a waste a thing... Even down to the innards and heads of the fish.Once the fish are cleaned, all the innards and heads are left for the birds to pick through. And when it becomes high tide, they get swept out to the ocean where other fish can pick - even down to the bottom feeders. It is a truly amazing cultural custom and one thing that they have a lot of pride in. Just to watch them explain it to me.. something I will ever forget...Their passion and love for traditions. After all that was said and done, I got to go "bum" the use of a coworkers shower. I have to admit after not being able to shower and finally get to use one that does not require shower shoes... it was pretty awesome. Still no water in my part of the village. Fingers crossed ACS (Alaska Communication System) gets it figured out.
On to the next adventure. Hope you all are still buckled and with me!
